Sir Basil S Brooke 5th Bt MC

Basil Stanlake Brooke was born on 9 June 1888 at Colebrooke Park in County Fermanagh. He was the eldest son of Sir Arthur Douglas Brooke 4th Baronet. His father died in 1907 and he inherited the title of 5th Baronet. He entered the army as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Fusiliers on 26 Sep 1908 and transferred to the 10th Hussars in the same rank on 4 Jan 1911. He left the army as a captain in 1920 after winning the MC on 3 June 1916. He entered politics as an MP for the Ulster Unionist Party becoming the 3rd Prime Minister of Northern Ireland in May 1943 until March 1963, having held government office for 33 years. In 1952 he was made a peer; 1st Viscount Brookeborough and a Knight of the Garter in 1965. He was married to Cynthia Mary Surgison in 1919 and has 3 sons. She died in 1970 and, at the age of 83, he married Sarah Calvert, a widow. He died on 18 Aug 1973

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